Current Events > Atheists are more likely to be left handed. Religious belief possibly genetic?

(+) Yeah! (+)

Left-handed people are more likely to be atheists, a study has found, as it says belief is passed on genetically. The study suggests that religious people have fewer genetic mutations and are therefore less likely to be left handed or have conditions such as autism or schizophrenia.

British academic Edward Dutton, a professor at Oulu University, Finland, Which is a country in Europe said that in pre-industrial times religiosity was passed on like other genetic attributes because it was associated with greater stability, mental health and better social behaviour.

But modern science means many people who would not previously have survived are making it to adulthood and reproducing - leading to a greater incidence of atheism.

Lack of belief in God is connected to genetic mutations which cause attributes such as left-handedness or autism, the paper argues. "Religious people in Western societiesreligious in the sense that complex societies were before the Industrial Revolutionare a remnant, selected population that likely would have survived in preindustrial conditions."

The phenomenon is also behind a rise in belief in the paranormal, the study says, with 52 per cent of British people saying in 2013 that they believed in the supernatural, up from 40 per cent in 2005.

Modern religious people were likely to be descended from those who were highly religious in pre-industrial times according to the paper, which is published in the journal Evolutionary Psychological Science.

"Religious people in Western societiesreligious in the sense that complex societies were before the Industrial Revolutionare a remnant, selected population that likely would have survived in preindustrial conditions.

"By contrast, atheists and believers in the paranormal would, disproportionately, never have reached adulthood or never have been born, because these beliefs, though very different, are partly an expression of the breakdown of selection and thus of rising mutational load," the study says.

The research was carried out by identifying people who were either left handed or had autism or schizophrenia and examining whether they were more or less likely to be religious.

It found that there was a "weak but significant" association between left-handedness and being non-religious, and a stronger one between autism and being non-religious. Studies have previously established that around 40 per cent of someone's religiousness is determined genetically.


Full Article: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/12/21/atheists-likely-left-handed-study-finds/



Maybe people who are left-handed are more likely to be bitter and as they are bitter are more likely to be cynical and as they are cynical are more likely to question religion?

Doesn't have to be genetics.
---

UnfairRepresent posted...

and a stronger one between autism and being non-religious.

why is the weak link with left-handedness the headline then?
---

---

Maybe people who are left-handed are more likely to be bitter and as they are bitter are more likely to be cynical and as they are cynical are more likely to question religion?

Doesn't have to be genetics.

That's fucking stupid. This is why people scoff when you try to represent yourself as intelligent.
---

GiftedACIII posted...

---

Topic title: "Atheists are more likely to be left handed."

Article: "Left-handed people are more likely to be atheists"

TC are you aware these are different statements that infer substantially different data?

Wishy posted...

UnfairRepresent posted...

and a stronger one between autism and being non-religious.

why is the weak link with left-handedness the headline then?

The link is left-handed people and autism.
---

GiftedACIII posted...

Oh that's awesome. I'm stealing this for sure .
---

Lefty here

I had a lefty teacher who got hit with a ruler by his teacher in first grade for using his left hand so many times that he had cuts on his knuckles. On his report card the teacher wrote "Unfortunately he seems set on using his left hand, so he is probably going to Hell."

Personally I'm an atheist and although I certainly wouldn't attribute it to my southpaw, I suppose there is some weird anti-left-hand imagery in the bible

It could be similar to LGBT people disliking the bible since it scorns things that aren't actually a choice
---

ArchiePeck posted...

Topic title: "Atheists are more likely to be left handed."

Article: "Left-handed people are more likely to be atheists"

TC are you aware these are different statements that infer substantially different data?

I copy pasted the article's title you carfaced shoe.

You're literally so eager to be angry at me that you don't even care what you say
---

UnfairRepresent posted...

The study suggests that religious people have fewer genetic mutations and are therefore less likely to be left handed or have conditions such as autism or schizophrenia.

Plot twist: Evolution deniers were only half-wrong.
---

UnfairRepresent posted...

Finland, Which is a country in Europe

---

This is just a ploy to get us left-handed Christians to identify ourselves. :v

This is a stupid topic.
---

SageHarpuia posted...

This is a stupid topic.

---

UnfairRepresent posted...

ArchiePeck posted...

Topic title: "Atheists are more likely to be left handed."

Article: "Left-handed people are more likely to be atheists"

TC are you aware these are different statements that infer substantially different data?

I copy pasted the article's title you carfaced shoe.

You're literally so eager to be angry at me that you don't even care what you say

Its because no one likes you.

Here I mean. I'm sure you're perfectly well liked in real life.
---

TC is a car faced shoe
---

UnfairRepresent posted...

t Oulu University, Finland, Which is a country in Europe

hmm

Faced shoe car
---

FigureOfSpeech posted...

TC is a car faced shoe

Like what does that even mean?
---

NadYobWoc posted...

FigureOfSpeech posted...

TC is a car faced shoe

Like what does that even mean?

Probably everything, or at least most things
---

NadYobWoc posted...

FigureOfSpeech posted...

TC is a car faced shoe

Like what does that even mean?

It's just a
FigureOfSpeech

www.instantrimshot.com
---

I think it's more likely that religious people are less likely to have their kids tested for autism
---

DarkChozoGhost posted...

I think it's more likely that religious people are less likely to have their kids tested for

It's the religious right who claimed vacinations caused it.
---

I think it's possible for religiosity to be influenced by genetics. Believable, even.

There's an area of the brain that becomes active during religious experiences. Maybe some people are more inclined to be religious because this area of the brain is more active in them? I don't know.
---

TheJBD posted...

SageHarpuia posted...

This is a stupid topic.

---

Blue_Inigo posted...

TheJBD posted...

SageHarpuia posted...

This is a stupid topic.

Sounds like you're scared of possibilities.
---

COVxy posted...

NadYobWoc posted...

FigureOfSpeech posted...

TC is a car faced shoe

Like what does that even mean?

It's just a
FigureOfSpeech

www.instantrimshot.com

Username relevance is why I've put off the name change for like a year already. I want to change the username, but I keep running into situations where I'm inclined not to.
---

Dyinglegacy posted...

I think it's possible for religiosity to be influenced by genetics. Believable, even.

There's an area of the brain that becomes active during religious experiences. Maybe some people are more inclined to be religious because this area of the brain is more active in them? I don't know.

I think you do.
---